List of Cultural References in Divine Comedy - O

O

• Obizzo II d'Este: Marquess of Ferrara in 1264–1293 and a leading Guelph. Popular tradition had it that he was killed by his son, Azzo VIII.
  • Pointed out by Nessus. Inf. XII, 110–2.
  • The "marquis" for whom Venedico Caccianemico admits to have procured his sister Ghisolabella. Inf. XVIII, 55–7.
• Octavian: see Augustus.
• Oderisi of Gubbio: Thirteenth-century manuscript illuminator. None of his works survive.
  • Encountered in Purgatory among the prideful. Purg. XI, 79.
• Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology): King of Ithaca, he was the son of Laertes, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus. Known for his guile and resourcefulness, he is the hero of Homer's Odyssey, and a major character in the Iliad. During the Trojan War, with Diomedes, he stole the Palladium and conceived the trickery of the Trojan horse. He was famous for the twenty years it took him to return home from the war.
  • Among the advisors of fraud, he (Ulysses) is punished with Diomedes for the sins they both committed at Troy. Inf. XXVI, 52–63.
  • At Virgil's urging, he (Ulysses) speaks about his journey after leaving Circe. Inf. XXVI, 79–142.
  • Mentioned by the siren who tempts Dante in a dream. Purg. XIX, 22.
• "Oh, my son, why have you done this to us?": Mary's speaks to her young son Jesus when he remained in Jerusalem without their knowledge or permission. (Luke 2:48)
  • Seen in a vision by Dante as an example of patience as he enters the terrace of the angry in Purgatory. Purg. XV, 89.
• "OMO": Letters seen formed by the eyes and nose-bridge of an emaciated human face. "Homo" in Latin means "human," and in Italian the word is "Uomo."
  • Dante sees the letters in the faces of the fasting souls on the terrace of the gluttonous. Purg. XXIII, 31–33.
• Sinibaldo degli Ordelaffi: Head of the noble Ordelaffi family and ruler of Forlì and the surrounding territory in Romagna from the end of the 13th century. His coat of arms contained a green lion.
  • Forlì "beneath green paws". Inf. XXVII 43–5.
• Orestes: Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Orestes avenged his father's murder by killing his mother. He refused to let his friend Pylades take the blame for the act.
  • "I am Orestes" is heard by souls in the terrace of the envious as a lesson in generosity. Purg. XIII, 33.
• Paulus Orosius (c.385–420): Historian and theologian; associate of St. Augustine.
  • Not named, but called "that defender of the Christian days who helped Augustine by his history" by Thomas Aquinas in the sphere of the Sun. Par. X, 118–20.
• Orpheus: Mythical Greek singer and poet who, like Dante, descended into the underworld.
  • Encountered by Dante in Limbo. Inf. IV, 140.
• Ottokar II, King of Bohemia (1253–1278) and enemy of German King Rudolf I
  • Dante sees them side-by-side in the "Valley of the Princes." Both are late-repenters, waiting to enter Purgatory. Purg. VII, 97–100.
• Ottaviano degli Ubaldini (c1210–1250): Cardinal and prominent Ghibelline who was the only supporter of their cause at the Papal Court at the time of the Battle of Montaperti (see Farinata).
  • Found among the Epicurean heretics. Inf. X, 120.
• Ovid: Latin poet, whose Metamorphoses, is Dante's principle, mythological source.
  • One of a group of classical poets (see Homer) encountered in Limbo. Inf. IV, 90.
  • His descriptions of the transformations Cadmus and Arethusa in the Metamorphoses are compared to the transformations of the thieves. Inf. XXV, 97–9.